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Education Policy Center Newsletter

From The Independence Institute
May 11, 2009
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In this issue
-- Trio of New Podcasts Highlight School Choice Developments
-- DeGrow Touts School Spending Transparency to Lawmakers, Education
Reformers
-- EPC Blogger “Eddie” Passes Milestone, Merits Praise

Dear Friends,

We hope you enjoy our latest monthly update from the Education Policy Center.

Pamela Benigno, Director

Ben DeGrow, Policy Analyst
Marya DeGrow, Research Associate

Trio of New Podcasts Highlight School Choice Developments

Hot off the presses …. Senior Fellow Krista Kafer joined Center Director Pam
Benigno for a new iVoices podcast discussion of her recently updated
Independence Institute issue paper A Chronology of School Choice in the U.S.
(PDF), and A Typology of Colorado Charter Schools 2009 (PDF), which she co-
authored for the Colorado Department of Education.

Last month, charter school mom Donnell Rosenberg introduced her new A
Parent’s Voice website in a podcast conversation with Pam. The site – a terrific
resource for charter school parents, employees, board members, and other
supporters – is a great complement to our own School Choice for Kids website.
Speaking of School Choice for Kids, I invite you to check out the updated
resource pages for information on preschool and college in Colorado.

For an insider’s national perspective on recent events, you also are invited to
listen to Scott Jensen from the Alliance for School Choice discuss with Pam how
educational freedom fighters are responding to attacks on school choice in
Milwaukee, Arizona, and Washington D.C.

For more:
Ed Is Watching, Krista Kafer Helps You Figure Out What Makes a Charter School
Good
Ed Is Watching, A Parent’s Voice: Terrific Source of Information for Colorado
Moms & Dads
Ed Is Watching, Momentous Time of Challenges and Opportunities for School
Choice
Ed Is Watching, Reason Video Hits Nail on Head for Washington DC School
Choice

DeGrow Touts School Spending Transparency to Lawmakers, Education

Reformers
Policy analyst Ben DeGrow recently traveled along with Pam to the American
Legislative Exchange Council meeting in Memphis, Tennessee, to share lessons
from Colorado’s fight for school spending transparency with various state
lawmakers and private-sector education leaders. Ben’s issue backgrounder
Shining the Light on Colorado School Spending (PDF) informed the debate over
this year’s Senate Bill 57, which went further than expected but ultimately was
killed by the House Education Committee.

For more:
Ed Is Watching, Politician Double-Super-Killed School Spending Transparency:
What’s to Hide?

EPC Blogger “Eddie” Passes Milestone, Merits Praise

The Education Policy Center just passed the first anniversary of our young
prodigy Eddie’s increasingly popular blog. Ed Is Watching ranked 19th in a survey
of education blog authority, and a national education expert showered praise,
saying the site is “one of the best education blogs, period.” I can’t help but
agree with that! Here are a few topics Eddie has covered in the past month with
his clever and colorful style:

House Education Committee Kills Choice for Autistic Kids, Angers Cap’n
Colorado Senate Bill 291: Bad Idea for Supporters of “Local Control”
Michelle Rhee Helping to Inspire My Radical Education Reform Side
Teachers Union Puppets Aren’t Cool Like Kermit the Frog & Friends
Detroit: Fire Teachers Who Don’t Pay Union, Not Those Who Can’t Teach

Contact Information
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email: pam@i2i.org
phone: 303-279-6536
web: http://www.independenceinstitute.org
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